A leading Middle East analyst has pushed back against US President Donald Trump’s dismissal of the conclusion of his own national intelligence chief, who said in April that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, said in an interview that Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, who issued the determination on Iran, “does not speak for herself” or her team alone.

“She speaks for all the intelligence agencies combined,” Bishara said.

• READ MORE:  Iran fires more ballistic missiles, Israel vows to continue attacks
• Egyptian crackdown on Gaza blockade busters but Kiwi activists vow to ‘defeat genocide’
• 15 months after ‘flour massacre’ shock, Israel commits daily Gaza food aid killings
• Other Middle East reports

“This intelligence is supposed to be sound. This is not just one person or one team saying something. It’s the entire intelligence community in the United States. He [Trump] would dismiss them? For what?

“For a lie by a rogue element called Benjamin Netanyahu, who has lied all his life, a con artist who is indicted for his crimes in Gaza? It’s just astounding.”

US senators slam Netanyahu
Two US senators have also condemned Netanyahu while Israel continues to bomb and starve Gaza

Chris Van Hollen and Elizabeth Warren, two Democrats in the US Senate, have urged the world to pay attention to what Israel continues to do in Gaza amid its conflict with Iran.

“Don’t look away,” Van Hollen wrote on X. “Since the start of the Israel-Iran war 7 days ago, over 400 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, many shot while seeking food.

“It’s unconscionable that Netanyahu has not allowed international orgs to resume food delivery.”

Warren said the Israeli prime minister “may think no one will notice what he’s doing in Gaza while he bombs Iran”.

“People face starvation. 55,000 killed. Aid workers and doctors turned away at the border. Shooting at innocent people desperate for food. The world sees you, Benjamin Netanyahu,” she wrote.

Israel’s Prime Minister may think no one will notice what he’s doing in Gaza while he bombs Iran.

People face starvation. 55,000 killed. Aid workers and doctors turned away at the border. Shooting at innocent people desperate for food.

The world sees you, Benjamin Netanyahu.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 20, 2025

‘A trust gap’
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, appealed for an end to the fighting between Israel and Iran, saying that Teheran had repeatedly stated that it was not seeking nuclear weapons.

“Let’s recognise there is a trust gap,” he said.

“The only way to bridge that gap is through diplomacy to establish a credible, comprehensive and verifiable solution — including full access to inspectors of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], as the United Nations technical agency in this field.

“For all of that to be possible, I appeal for an end to the fighting and the return to serious negotiations.”

Meanwhile, in New Zealand hope for freedom for Palestinians remained high among a group of trauma-struck activists in Cairo.

In spite of extensive planning, the Global March To Gaza (GMTG) delegation of about 4000 international aid volunteers was thwarted in its mission to walk from Cairo to Gaza to lend support.

Asia Pacific Report special correspondents report on the saga.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Recent reports say that US AID is considering giving $500 million to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF)—an “aid” initiative launched at Israel’s request. At first glance, that might sound like a generous effort to help desperate Palestinians in Gaza. But peel back even one layer, and you’ll find a deadly political scheme masquerading as humanitarian relief.

This is not about helping hungry people. It’s about controlling them, displacing them, and starving them into submission.

Let’s start with some basics. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is not a humanitarian organization. It’s a U.S.- and Israeli-backed scheme run by people with no track record in neutral aid work. Its first director Jake Wood, resigned on May 25, saying the organization failed to uphold humanitarian principles. Then the Boston Consulting Group, which had secretly helped design GHF’s aid operations, pulled out and apologized to staff who were furious about the firm’s complicity in a system that enabled forced displacement and sidelined trusted UN agencies.

GHF’s brand new director is Johnnie Moore, an American evangelical PR executive best known for helping Donald Trump recognize Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem and push the U.S. embassy move there—a move that only fanned the flames of conflict.

GHF’s entire premise is rooted in deception. It was launched with Israeli government oversight, without transparency, without independence, and—critically—without the participation of the United Nations or any respected humanitarian agencies. In fact, the UN has refused to have anything to do with it. So have groups like Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, and the World Food Programme, whose leaders have warned in no uncertain terms that GHF’s model militarizes aid, violates humanitarian norms, and places Palestinian lives at even greater risk.

GHF has never been about delivering aid. It’s about using the illusion of aid to control the population of Gaza—and to give cover to war crimes.

People in Gaza are starving because Israel wants them to. There are thousands of aid trucks, many loaded with supplies from the United Nations, that—for months—have been blocked from entering Gaza. They contain food, water, medicine, shelter materials—the lifeblood of a besieged civilian population. But instead of letting them through, the U.S. and Israel are pushing their own version of aid: a privatized, militarized operation. Armed U.S. contractors working with the GHF are reportedly earning up to $1,100 per day, along with a $10,000 signing bonus.

The GHF plan is to make aid available only in the south, forcibly displacing people from the north—driving them toward the Egyptian border, where many fear a permanent expulsion is being engineered.

From the very start of GHF’s operations, with the opening of two distribution sites in southern Gaza on May 26, the chaos turned deadly, with Israeli military shooting at hungry people seeking food. In its short time of operation, nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds more wounded. These are not tragic accidents—they are predictable outcomes of militarizing aid.

Let’s also address the fear-mongering claim that when the UN was in charge of aid delivery, food was being stolen by Hamas. There is no credible evidence of this and Cindy McCain, head of the World Food Programme, has publicly refuted this allegation, saying that trucks have been looted by hungry, desperate people.

The real threat to aid integrity isn’t Hamas—it’s the blockade itself, which has created an artificial scarcity and fueled black markets, desperation, and chaos..

To truly help the people of Gaza, here’s what needs to happen:

• Shut down GHF and reject all militarized aid schemes.

• Restore full U.S. funding to UNRWA and the World Food Programme—trusted, experienced agencies that know how to do this work.

• Demand that Israel end the blockade. Let aid trucks in—UN trucks, Red Cross trucks, WFP trucks. Flood the strip with food, medicines, tents.

• Demand an immediate ceasefire to stop the killing and create space for meaningful relief and political solutions.

The starvation in Gaza is not a logistical failure. It is Israel’s political choice. And GHF is not a lifeline. It is a lie. It is complicity. It is diabolical. And U.S. taxpayers should not be forced to fund it.

This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Medea Benjamin.

Funding for New Zealand’s Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) is set to be reduced by almost $36 million in Budget 2025.

This follows a cut of nearly $26 million in the 2024 budget.

As part of these budgetary savings, the Tauola Business Fund will be closed. But, $6.3 million a year will remain to support Pacific economic and business development through the Pacific Business Trust and Pacific Business Village.

• READ MORE: Budget 2025 at a glance: The big changes, winners and losers
• Govt should defuse NZ’s social timebomb – but won’t
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The Budget cuts also affect the Tupu Aotearoa programme, which supports Pacific people in finding employment and training, alongside the Ministry of Social Development’s employment initiatives.

While $5.25 million a year will still fund the programme, a total of $22 million a year has been cut over the last four years.

The ministry will save almost $1 million by returning funding allocated for the Dawn Raids reconciliation programme from 2027/28 onwards.

There are two years of limited funding left to complete the ministry Dawn Raids programmes, which support the Crown’s reconciliation efforts.

Funding for Pasifika Wardens
Despite these reductions, a new initiative providing funding for Pasifika Wardens will introduce $1 million of new spending over the next four years.

The initiative will improve services to Pacific communities through capacity building, volunteer training, transportation, and enhanced administrative support.

Funding for the National Fale Malae has ceased, as only $2.7 million of the allocated $10 million has been spent since funding was granted in Budget 2020.

The remaining $6.6 million will be reprioritised over the next two years to address other priorities within the Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio, including the National Music Centre.

Foreign Affairs funding for the International Development Cooperation (IDC) projects, particularly focussed on the Pacific, is also affected. The IDC received an $800 million commitment in 2021 from the Labour government.

The funding was time-limited, leading to a $200 million annual fiscal cliff starting in January 2026.

Budget 2025 aims to mitigate this impact by providing ongoing, baselined funding of $100 million a year to cover half of the shortfall. An additional $5 million will address a $10 million annual shortfall in departmental funding.

Support for IDC projects
The new funding will support IDC projects, emphasising the Pacific region without being exclusively aimed at climate finance objectives. Overall, $367.5 million will be allocated to the IDC over four years.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the Budget addressed a prominent fiscal cliff, especially concerning climate finance.

“The Budget addresses this, at least in part, through ongoing, baselined funding of $100 million a year, focused on the Pacific,” she said in her Budget speech.

“Members will not be surprised to know that the Minister of Foreign Affairs has made a case for more funding, and this will be looked at in future Budgets.”

More funding has been allocated for new homework and tutoring services for learners in Years nine and 10 at schools with at least 50 percent Pacific students to meet the requirements for the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).

About 50 schools across New Zealand are expected to benefit from the initiative, which will receive nearly $7 million over the next four years, having been reprioritised from funding for the Pacific Education Programme.

As a result, funding will be stopped for three programmes aimed at supporting Tu’u Mālohi, Pacific Reading Together and Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities.

Republished from Pacific Media Network News with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

The Papua New Guinea government wants to have everyone on their National Identity (NID) card system by the country’s 50th anniversary on 16 September 2025.

While the government has been struggling to set up the NID programme for more than 10 years, in January the Prime Minister, James Marape, announced they aimed to have 100 percent of Papua New Guineans signed up by September 16.

However, an academic with the University of PNG, working in conjunction with the Australian National University, Andrew Anton Mako, said there was no chance the government could achieve this goal.

• READ MORE: Other PNG identity card reports

Anton Mako spoke with RNZ Pacific senior journalist Don Wiseman:

ANDREW ANTON MAKO: The NID programme was established in November 2014, so it’s 10 years now. I wouldn’t know the mechanics of the delay, why it has taken this long for the project to not deliver on the outcomes, but I can say a lot of money has been invested into the programme.

By the end of this year, the national government would have spent about 500 million kina (over NZ$211 million). That’s a lot of money to be spent on a particular project, and then it would have only registered about 30 to 40 percent of the total population. So there’s a serious issue there. The project has failed to deliver.

DON WISEMAN: Come back to that in a moment. But why does the government think that a national ID card is so important?

AAM: It’s got some usefulness to achieve. If it was well established and well implemented, it would address a number of issues. For example, on doing business and a form of identity that will help people to do business, to apply for jobs in Papua New Guinea or elsewhere, and all that. I believe it has got merit towards it, but I think just that it has not been implemented properly.

DW: Does the population like the idea?

AAM: I think generally when it started, people were on board. But when it got delayed, you see a lot of people venting frustration on the NID Facebook page. I think [it’s] popularity has actually fallen over the years.

DW: It’s money that could go into a whole lot of other, perhaps, more important things?

AAM: Exactly, there’s pressing issues for the country, in terms of law and order, health and education. Those important sectors have actually fallen over the years. So that 500 million kina would have been better spent.

DW: So now the government wants the entire country within this system by September 16, and they’re not going to get anywhere near it. They must have realised they wouldn’t get anywhere near it when the Prime Minister made that statement. Surely?

AAM: It’s not possible. The numbers do not add up. They’ve spent more than 460 million kina over the last 10 years or so, and they’ve only registered 36 percent of the total — 3.3 million people. And then of the 3.3 million people, they’ve only issued an ID card to about 30 to 40 perCent of them . . .

DW: 30 to 40 percent of those who have already signed up. So it’s what, 10 percent of the country?

AAM: That’s right, about 1.2 million people have been issued an ID card, including a duplicate card. It is not possible to register the entire country, the rest of the country, in just six, seven or eight months.

DW: It’s not the first time that the government has come out with what is effectively like a wish list without fully backing it, financially?

AAM: That’s right. The ambitions that the government and the Prime Minister, their intentions are good, but there is no effective strategy how to get there.

The resources that are needed to be allocated. It’s just not possible to realise the the end results. For example, the Prime Minister and his government promised that by this year, we would stop importing rice. That was a promise that was made in 2019, so the thing is that the government has not clearly laid out a plan as to how the country will realise that outcome by this year.

If you are going to promise something, then you have to deliver on it. You have to deliver on the ambitions. Then you have to set up a proper game plan and proper indicators and things like this.

I think that’s the issue, that you have promised something [and] you must deliver. But you must chart out a proper pathway to deliver that.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Between tomorrow and Friday, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) will host a weapons bazaar that ought to be called “The Merchants of Death”.

The times for these merchants are positively bullish, given that total global military expenditure exceeded US$2.4 trillion last year, an increase of 6.8 percent in real terms from 2022.

The introductory note to the event is mildly innocuous:

“The Land Forces 2024 International Land Defence Exposition is the premier platform for interaction between defence, industry and government of all levels, to meet, to do business and discuss the opportunities and challenges facing the global land defence markets.”

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The website goes on to describe the Land Defence Exposition as “the premier gateway to the land defence markets of Australia and the region, and a platform for interaction with major prime contractors from the United States and Europe”.

At the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in 2022, the event attracted 20,000 attendees, 810 “exhibitor organisations” from 25 countries, and ran 40 conferences, symposia and presentations.

From 30 nations, came 159 defence, government, industry and scientific delegations.

Land Forces 2024 is instructive as to how the military-industrial complex manifests. Featured background reading for the event involves, for instance, news about cultivating budding militarists.

Where better to start than in school?

School military ‘pathways’
From August 6, much approval is shown for the $5.1 million Federation Funding Agreement between the Australian government and the state governments of South Australia and West Australia to deliver “the Schools Pathways Programme (SPP)” as part of the Australian government’s Defence Industry Development Strategy.

The programme offers school children a chance to taste the pungent trimmings of industrial militarism — visits to military facilities, “project-based learning” and presentations.

Rather cynically, the SPP co-opts the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) aspect of government policy, carving up a direct link between school study and the defence industry.

“We need more young Australians studying STEM subjects in schools and developing skills for our future workforce,” insisted Education Minister Jason Clare. It is hard to disagree with that, but why weapons?

There is much discontent about the Land Forces exposition.

Victorian Greens MP Ellen Sandell and federal MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt wrote to Premier Jacinta Allan asking her to call off the arms event.

The party noted that such companies as Elbit Systems “and others that are currently fuelling . . . Israel’s genocide in Palestine, where 40,000 people have now been killed — will showcase and sell their products there”.

Demands on Israel dismissed
Allan icily dismissed such demands.

Disrupt Land Forces, which boasts 50 different activist collectives, has been preparing.

Defence Connect reported as early as June 4 that groups, including Wage Peace — Disrupt War and Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance, were planning to rally against the Land Force exposition.

The usual mix of carnival, activism and harrying have been planned over a week, with the goal of ultimately encircling the MCEC to halt proceedings.

Ahead of the event, the Victorian Labor government, the event’s sponsor, has mobilised 1800 more police officers from the regional areas.

Victorian Police Minister Anthony Carbines did his best to set the mood.

“If you are not going to abide by the law, if you’re not going to protest peacefully, if you’re not going to show respect and decency, then you’ll be met with the full force of the law.”

Warmongering press outlets
Let us hope the police observe those same standards.

Warmongering press outlets, the Herald Sun being a stalwart, warn of the “risks” that “Australia’s protest capital” will again be “held hostage to disruption and confrontation”, given the diversion of police.

Its August 15 editorial demonised the protesters, swallowing the optimistic incitements on the website of Disrupt Land Forces.

The editorial noted the concerns of unnamed senior police fretting about “the potential chaos outside MCEC at South Wharf and across central Melbourne”, the context for police to mount “one of the biggest security operations since the anti-vaccine/anti-lockdown protests at the height of covid in 2021–21 or the World Economic Forum chaos in 2000”.

Were it up to these editors, protesters would do better to stay at home and let the Victorian economy, arms and all, hum along.

The merchants of death could then go about negotiating the mechanics of murder in broad daylight; Victoria’s government would get its blood fill; and Melbournians could turn a blind eye to what oils the mechanics of global conflict.

The protests will, hopefully, shock the city into recognition that the arms trade is global, nefarious and indifferent as to the casualty count.

Dr Binoy Kampmark lectures in global studies at RMIT University. This article was first published by Green Left and is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Promises of “accountability and transparency” in deep-sea mining has seen a tsunami-size vote by nations on Friday for a Brazilian scientist to replace the incumbent British lawyer as head of an obscure UN organisation that regulates the world’s seabed.

Mounting international opposition to prospects of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) approving exploitation of the deep ocean’s vast mineral bounty by corporations before its environmental regulations were finalised fuelled the mood for change.

A rare vote by member nations saw Brazil’s candidate, former oceanographer Leticia Carvalho, defeat two-term head Michael Lodge, who has been criticised for being aligned to seabed mining companies.

• READ MORE: Other deep-sea mining reports

Lodge was not present when the result was announced.

“The winning margin reflects the appetite for change,” Carvalho told BenarNews. “I see that transparency and accountability, broader participation, more focus on additional science, bridging knowledge gaps are the priority areas.”

Lodge had support from only 34 nations compared with 79 for Carvahlo, who also campaigned on restoring neutrality to the secretary-general position. She is currently a senior official at the UN Environment Programme and a former oil industry regulator in Brazil.

The change of leadership at the Kingston-based ISA is a possible setback to efforts to quickly finalise regulations for seabed mining, which would pave the way for exploitation to begin in the areas under its jurisdiction.

Some countries, meanwhile, are exploring the possibility of nodule mining in their territorial waters, which are outside of ISA oversight.

Mining of the golf ball-sized metallic nodules that litter swathes of the sea bed is touted as a source of rare earths and minerals needed for green technologies, such as electric vehicles, as the world reduces reliance on fossil fuels.

Sceptics say such minerals are already abundant on land and warn that mining the sea bed could cause irreparable damage to an environment that is still poorly understood by science.

Lodge was nominated for a third term by Kiribati, which is one of three Pacific island nations working with Nasdaq-listed The Metals Company on plans to exploit seabed minerals. More than 30 nations were disqualified from voting in the secret ballot as their financial contributions to the ISA are in arrears.

The hundreds of delegates and other attendees at the ISA assembly lined up to hug Carvalho following her election, including Gerard Barron, chief executive of The Metals Company.

After the vote the company tweeted, “we appreciate her proactive engagement with us and share her belief that adopting regulations, not a moratorium, is the best way to fulfil the ISA’s mandate,” adding they still hope to become “the first commercial operator in this promising industry.”

Greenpeace International campaigner Louisa Casson said she hoped Carvalho would work with governments “to change the ISA’s course to serve the public interest, as it has been driven by the narrow corporate interests of the deep sea mining industry for far too long.”

This week’s annual assembly of the ISA also witnessed more nations joining a call for a moratorium on mining until there was greater scientific and environmental understanding of its likely consequences.

Tuvalu is one of the latest to join those calling for a moratorium, taking to 10 the members of the 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum, now opposed to any imminent start to deep-sea mining.

Nations such as Vanuatu and Chile also succeeded in forcing a general debate on establishing an environmental policy at the ISA.

Pelenatita Petelo Kara, a Tongan activist who campaigns against deep-sea mining, said she was hopeful new leadership would mean “more time for science to confirm new developments” such as alternative minerals for green technologies as well as a more thorough dialogue on the proposed mining rules.

Deep-sea mineral extraction has been particularly contentious in the Pacific, where some economically lagging island nations see it as a possible financial windfall, but many other island states are strongly opposed.

The island nation of Nauru in June 2021 notified the seabed authority of its intention to begin mining, which triggered the clock for the first time on a two-year period for the authority’s member nations to finalise regulations.

Its president David Adeang told the assembly earlier this week that its mining application currently being prepared in conjunction with The Metals Company would allow the ISA to make “an informed decision based on real scientific data and not emotion and conjecture.”

Copyright ©2015-2024, BenarNews. Published with the permission of BenarNews.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

New Zealand will make its annual payment of $1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as scheduled.

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has confirmed the news in a tweet.

“This follows careful consideration of the UN’s response — including through external and internal investigations — to serious allegations against certain UNRWA staff being involved in the 7 October terrorist attacks on Israel,” he said.

• READ MORE: Israel’s war on Gaza live: More than 36,700 killed in eight months of war
• Columbia Law Review website shut down over ‘censored’ article critical of Israel
• Other War on Gaza reports

“It also reflects assurances received from the UN Secretary-General about remedial work underway to enhance UNRWA’s neutrality.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in January confirmed New Zealand would hold off on making the usual June payment until Peters was satisfied over accusations against the agency’s staff.

UNRWA is the UN’s largest aid agency operating in Gaza, but in January Israel levelled allegations that a dozen of UNRWA’s staff had been involved in the October 7 attack by Hamas fighters into southern Israel.

The attack left about 1139 people dead and about 250 Israeli soldiers and civilians were reported to have been taken hostage.

Never suspended
Speaking from Fiji on the final day of his trip to the Pacific, Luxon said New Zealand had never suspended its payments as other countries had.

“Our funding is made once a year. It was due by the end of June. As I said at the time, they were serious allegations. The UN investigated then, the deputy prime minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters also got assurances from the UN Secretary-General.

“We’re reassured that it’s a good investment and it’s entirely appropriate that we now make that payment.”

The independent report commissioned by the UN into the agency concluded it needed to improve its neutrality, vetting and transparency, but Israel had failed to back up the claims which led many countries to halt their funding.

UNRWA fired the 10 employees accused by Israel who were still alive. The agency is one of the largest UN operations and employs about 30,000 people.

Secretary-General António Guterres said any UN employee found to have been involved in acts of terror would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

Luxon said he was “absolutely” satisfied due diligence had been done on the matter, and New Zealand was “very comfortable” making the payments.

New Zealand will be making its annual payment of $1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on schedule and in coming days. This follows careful consideration of the UN’s response – including through external & internal investigations – to serious…

— Winston Peters (@NewZealandMFA) June 6, 2024

$17m in other aid
“Remember also that we’ve made $17 million worth of additional investments in aid to organisations like the World Food Programme, International Red Cross and others.

“This is just part of our humanitarian assistance package, we’ve woken up this morning to more images of catastrophic impact of civilians in Gaza, why we’ve been calling consistently for some time a cessation of hostilities there.”

Gaza’s Health Ministry estimates at least 36,580 people have been killed in Gaza since the attack in October.

Most recently an Israeli air strike on a UN school in central Gaza, which was packed with hundreds of displaced people, killed more than 40 people.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Television New Zealand has breached its collective agreement with the E tū union when deciding on discontinuing programmes, the Employment Relations Authority has ruled.

It was announced in March that 68 staff members who work for news programmes Midday and Tonight, consumer justice programme Fair Go, current affairs programme Sunday, and the youth programme Re: and in-house video content production were affected by redundancy.

Last month, the company confirmed the axing of Fair Go and Sunday, along with its midday and late night news bulletins.

• READ MORE: Other TVNZ programme, staff cuts reports

Yesterday, the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) ordered the broadcaster to go into mediation with E tū union.

“The Authority finds that TVNZ has breached cl 10.1.1 of the collective agreement,” the ruling stated.

It said that if after mediation, matters were not resolved, an order would be made against TVNZ to comply with its collective agreement.

Executives, staff gave evidence
TVNZ executives and staff were among those giving evidence in an investigation meeting at the ERA in Auckland on Monday relating to the state broadcaster’s alleged breaches in its redundancy process.

E tū union took the case against TVNZ, arguing the company did not follow the consultation requirements under its collective agreement with its members.

E tū wants more of a role in the initial decision-making, which it said TVNZ was obliged to do under the collective agreement.

But TVNZ opposed the application, claiming there had been no breach and that the company had clearly communicated to staff and unions that redundancies would take place.

In a statement, TVNZ said: “We are disappointed by the decision today from the Employment Relations Authority. We will now take the time to consider the decision and our next steps”.

Staff still employed
E tū negotiator Michael Wood told RNZ Checkpoint yesterday that the determination was a very clear one and any redundancy notices that had been issued were therefore not valid.

Staff still continue to be employed during this mediation because “there has not been a legitimate process to result in their redundancies”, Wood said.

It had been a “botched process”, he said.

“If you have an agreement with someone that says you’re going to work through something in a particular way, you need to follow it and TVNZ did not follow it in this case and the ERA has affirmed that.”

It had been an incredibly disruptive time for stuff and they were “really happy about this outcome”, Wood said.

The ERA said the clause that TVNZ had breached was an uncommon provision, but Wood said the company signed off on it.

“We would like to meet as soon as we reasonably can.”

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

The World Food Programme is warning northern Gaza has reached a “full-blown” famine that is spreading south. This comes after the Israeli military has spent months blocking the entry of vital aid into Gaza, attacking humanitarian aid convoys and opening fire on Palestinian civilians waiting to receive lifesaving aid. We get an update on conditions among the besieged and starving population of Gaza — including of children now suffering from the psychological effects of intense and prolonged trauma — from Dr. Walid Masoud, a vascular surgeon and a board member of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund who is just back from heading a medical mission to Gaza.

This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

Video I

Here, Khan questions where the money promised by the PM went and asks people to stay aware of such ‘jumle waade’ (false promises). The video ends with an appeal to people to vote for Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Khan states: “If you think India is a poor country, then you are wrong. Because every citizen here is a millionaire. Every citizen here should have at least Rs 15 Lakh. What did you say? You don’t have this money? So where did your 15 Lakh go? Beware of jumlewad“.

Premium subscribed X (formerly Twitter) user Harish Meena (@HarishMeenaINC) shared the video on April 15. In the tweet, the user wrote: “… You don’t have 15 lakhs in your account.. So where did your 15 lakhs go??? So be careful with such jokers.. Otherwise it will be your loss…” (Archive)

भारत का हर नागरिक लखपति है
क्योंकि सबके पास काम से कम 15 लाख तो होने ही चाहिए ..
क्या कहा
आपके अकाउंट में 15 लाख नहीं है..
तो आपके 15 लाख गए कहां ???
तो ऐसे जुमलेबाजों से रहे सावधान
नहीं तो होगा तुम्हारा नुकसान
देशहित में जारी pic.twitter.com/GkhwpbUCfz

— Harish Meena (@HarishMeenaINC) April 15, 2024

Several other users on X also shared the same video claiming Aamir Khan was endorsing Congress.

Video II

In the second video, which is yet again an appeal to the public to vote for Congress, the actor can be heard praising ‘Panch Nyay‘ which is the Congress party’s manifesto for the upcoming election.

Aamir Khan says, “In this election, there are two types of guarantees, one is good and other bad. The bad news is that again such ‘jumle waade‘ (false promises) have been made to destroy your life. But the good news is this time for your betterment there is ‘Paanch Nyay’. The Hand (Congress Party’s symbol) will change the scenario.”

Facebook page North East With Congress shared the above-mentioned video on April 12 with the following caption: “Indian Film Superstar Shri Amir Khan’s support for ‘ #PaanchNYAY ‘ and his endorsement of the #Congress and #INDIAAlliance is a welcome sight. It takes courage to stand up for what’s right, and his stance signifies a shift in Bollywood’s narrative. Let’s embrace this momentum for change and cast our vote for progress.
#NoVoteForBJP
#HaathBadlegaHalaat #voteforchange2024 #Vote4Congress
#VoteForCongress”.

Alt News received requests on its WhatsApp helpline to fact-check the above video.

Fact Check

Video I

We noticed that the words heard in the video and the lip movement of the actor did not match in several instances. After breaking down the video into several key frames, we ran a reverse image search on some of them. This led us to a YouTube video posted on the channel Satyamev Jayate, a show hosted by Aamir Khan which ran between 2012 and 2014 on TV channel Star Plus.

The visuals and background music in this YouTube video were the same as those in the viral video. The video was posted on August 30, 2016, and the title said: “Sataymev Jayate Ep 4 Promo – Each Indian is entitled to one crore!”

In the 35-second video, Khan says that every Indian is entitled to 1 crore rupees. The video ends with Aamir Khan asking everyone to watch the show and there is no mention of “jumle waade” as in the viral video.

We ran a relevant keyword search to find more information related to the above video and found the promo on the official website of the programme as well. The promotional video was for an episode titled: “Kings Every Day” in season 2 of the show which aired in 2014. The entire 1.11-hour-long episode is available on Satyamev Jayate’s YouTube channel, it was posted on March 23, 2014.

In the above video, Aamir Khan begins by talking about financial scams in the country and then goes on to discuss taxes and personal wealth. At the 9.41 mark, he introduces a guest expert from an independent think tank. They discuss about national wealth and deduce that if the total wealth of the country is distributed among the citizens, each Indian will become a crorepati.

Hence, it is clear that the audio of the viral video of Aamir Khan that is being shared as his appeal to voters to vote for Congress is not genuine. The audio has been doctored seemingly using AI voice cloning.

Video 2

As in the above video, in this case as well we noticed that the lip movement was not always in sync with the audio.

We looked through Satyamev Jayate’s YouTube channel to check if the second viral video had also been taken from here and we found the same video posted on August 30, 2016. The visuals of this video are the same as the video clip in question.

However, the audio is different. In the YouTube video, Khan can be heard talking about the comeback of his show on television and not about the manifestos of any political party.

He gestures ‘five’ with his hand and says that his show will be telecast on five Sundays in March. In the viral video, this gesture is being claimed to be made for his endorsement of the ‘Panch Nyay’ in Congress’ manifesto.

We further found a tweet by the official X account of Satyamev Jayate from February 23, 2014, which carried the link to the same video. The caption said: “Sirf Paanch Sunday, March Ke! Watch the new season of Satyamev Jayate , every Sunday of March at 11am #DeshKiFikr”.

Sirf Paanch Sunday, March Ke! Watch the new season of Satyamev Jayate , every Sunday of March at 11am #DeshKiFikr http://t.co/nAyJJRxX4u

— Satyamev Jayate (@satyamevjayate) February 23, 2014

Therefore, from the above findings, it is clear that the claim that Aamir Khan is endorsing Congress’ manifesto is false. The audio of the original video has been doctored.

With respect to the first video, we could also find an official statement from Aamir Khan’s team given to the media. NDTV reported that Khan’s office said, “We want to clarify Aamir Khan has never endorsed any political party in his 35-year career. He has dedicated his efforts to raising public awareness through campaigns for the Election Commission for many past elections. We are alarmed now to see a recent viral video alleging Mr Khan is promoting a particular party. He would like to clarify this is a fake and totally untrue video. He has reported the matter to various authorities, including filing an FIR with the Cyber Crime Cell of Mumbai Police”.

The post Aamir Khan’s TV programme clips doctored with voice cloning; the actor did not seek votes for Congress appeared first on Alt News.

This content originally appeared on Alt News and was authored by Oishani Bhattacharya.

Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, who led the UN Development Programme which oversees UNRWA, told RNZ Morning Report today it was the biggest platform for getting humanitarian aid into Gaza for a populations that is 85 percent displaced.

People are on the verge on starvation and going without medical supplies, she said.

“If you’re going to defund and destroy this platform, then the misery and suffering of the people under bombardment can only increase and you can only have more deaths.”

• LISTEN TO RNZ MORNING REPORT: Helen Clark’s full interview on UNRWA
• Palestinians condemn suspension of UNRWA funding by Western nations
• Amnesty chief calls UNRWA funding cuts ‘heartless’, ‘sickening’ – Breakdown of funding
• UNRWA funding cuts condemned as ‘collective punishment’
• Other UNRWA reports from Al Jazeera

Clark said it was “most regrettable that countries have acted in this precipitous way to defund the organisation on the basis of allegations”.

Al Jazeera reports that top Palestinian officials and Hamas have criticised the decision by nearly a dozen Western countries led by the US to suspend funding UNRWA — the UN relief agency for Palestinians — and called for an immediate reversal of the move, which entails “great” risk.

Ireland and Norway have confirmed continued support for UNRWA, saying the agency does crucial work to help Palestinians displaced and in desperate need of assistance in Gaza.

The Norwegian aid agency said the people of Gaza would “starve in the streets” without UNRWA humanitarian assistance.

Hamas’ media office said in a post on Telegram: “We ask the UN and the international organisations to not cave into the threats and blackmail” from Israel.

Defunding ‘not right decision’
Former PM Clark did not deny the allegations made were serious, but said defunding the agency without knowing the outcome of the investigation was not the right decision, RNZ reports.

“I led an organisation that had tens of thousands of people on contracts at any one time. Could I say, hand on heart, people never did anything wrong? No I couldn’t. But what I could say was that any allegations would be fully investigated and results made publicly known,” she said.

UNRWA funding cuts — why Israel is trying to destroy the UN Palestinian aid agency.  Video: Al Jazeera

“That’s exactly what the head of UNRWA has said, it’s what the Secretary-General’s saying, that process is underway, but this is not a time to be just cutting off the funding because a small minority of UNRWA staff face allegations.”

Luxon suggested Clark’s plea would not affect New Zealand’s response.

“I appreciate that, but we’re the government, and they’re serious allegations, they need to be understood and investigated and when the foreign minister [Winston Peters] says that he’s done that and he’s happy for us to contribute and continue to contribute, we’ll do that.”

Clark said people could starve to death or die because they did not receive the medication they needed in the meantime.

Halting aid to Gaza via UNRWA is “deeply twisted and harmful”.
…And Australia has joined in the halt. https://t.co/17gV0AyPaj pic.twitter.com/5b7DU6dOaB

— Peter Cronau (@PeterCronau) January 30, 2024

If major donor countries like the United States and Germany continued to withhold funding, UNRWA would go down and there was no alternative, she said.

Clark did not believe there was any coincidence in the allegations being made known at the same time as the International Court of Justice’s ruling on the situation in Gaza.

According to the BBC, the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to refrain from killing and injuring Palestinians and do more to “prevent and punish” public incitement to genocide. Tel Aviv must report back to the court on its actions within a month.

Clark said the timing of the UNRWA allegations was an attempt to deflect the significant rulings made of the court and dismiss them.

“I think it’s fairly obvious what was happening.”

States must reverse cruel decision to withdraw UNRWA funding
https://t.co/JRMfHH9P04

— Amnesty International (@amnesty) January 29, 2024

Israel had provided the agency with information alleging a dozen staff were involved in the October 7 attack by Hamas fighters in southern Israel, which left about 1300 dead and about 250 taken as hostages.

More than 26,000 people — mostly women and children — have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a major military operation in response, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark has joined a chorus of global development and political figures defending the United Nations “lifeline” for more than two million Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip enclave.

Declaring New Zealand should stick to its three-year funding agreement with the UN relief agency for Palestinians (UNRWA), Clark joined the pleas by the agency chief executive Philippe Lazzarini — who condemned the US action to suspend funding as “collective punishment” — and Secretary-General António Guterres.

New Zealand is due to fund the agency $1 million this year.

• READ MORE:  Israel’s war on Gaza live: Aid cuts are ‘collective punishment’ – UNRWA
• More countries pause funds for UN Palestinian agency

Protesters at an Auckland solidarity rally for Palestine demanding an immediate unconditional ceasefire also condemned the countries suspending UNRWA funding amid reports of serious flooding of Gaza refugee camps.

Suspension of funding by 9 countries to @UNRWA amounts to further collective punishment of besieged #Gaza population. #UNRWA is largest UN humanitarian & development service provider there. Staff accused of crimes have been dismissed. Do donors want relief operation to collapse? https://t.co/xU5jAfqm7T

— Helen Clark (@HelenClarkNZ) January 27, 2024

Other political leaders to voice concerns as eight countries joined the US in announcing they were suspending their funding for UNRWA include Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf and former leader of the UK Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn.

Two countries — Ireland and Norway — declared they they would continue funding the agency and Lazzarini said: “It is shocking to see a suspension of funds to the agency in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff.”

Cuts one day after ICJ ruling
The cuts to funding were announced by the US a day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had ordered Israel to take steps to prevent genocidal acts and to punish those who committed such acts in its war on Gaza, and to immediately facilitate aid to the victims of the war.

Israel had alleged that about a dozen of the agency’s 13,000 employees had been involved in the deadly Hamas raid on southern Israel on October 7.

UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in #Gaza, with over 2 million people depending on it for their sheer survival.

93% of displaced families in southern governorates of#Gaza have reported inadequate food consumption.

People are desperate, hunger stalks everyone. pic.twitter.com/WLr0JYNRb2

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) January 27, 2024

The eight other countries that have joined the US in suspending funding are Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland.

“Serious as allegations around a tiny percentage of now former UNRWA staff may be, this isn’t the time to suspend funding to UN’s largest relief and development agency in Gaza,” said Clark, who is also the former head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), in a post on social media.

Secretary-General Guterres said in a statement that the UN had taken “swift actions” following the “serious allegations” against UNRWA staff members, terminating most of the suspects and activating an investigation.

“Of the 12 people implicated, nine were immediately identified and terminated by the Commissioner General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini, one is confirmed dead, and the identity of the two others is being clarified,” he said.

“Any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.

‘Ready to cooperate’
“The secretariat is ready to cooperate with a competent authority able to prosecute the individuals in line with the secretariat’s normal procedures for such cooperation.

“Meanwhile, 2 million civilians in Gaza depend on critical aid from UNRWA for daily survival, but UNRWA’s current funding will not allow it to meet all requirements to support them in February.”

The day after @ICJ concluded that Israel is plausibly committing Genocide in Gaza, some states decided to defund UNRWA, collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention. https://t.co/fl32DrDeFs

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) January 27, 2024

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, said that states cutting funding to UNRWA could be “violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention”.

“The day after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded that Israel is plausibly committing genocide in Gaza, some states decided to defund UNRWA,” Albanese said in a post on social media.

Albanese also described the decision taken by several UNWRA donors as “collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time”.

Noting the irony, lawyer and social media content producer Rosy Pirani said in a post on Instagram: “The US stopped funding UNHRA over an unverified claim that some of its employees may have been involved in 10/7, but continues to fund Israel despite actual evidence [before the ICJ] that it is committing genocide.”

Meanwhile, the largest hospital in besieged Khan Younis city remained crippled and faced collapse as Israel’s offensive continued nearby. Doctors described it as a “dangerous situation”.

Footage showed people in the crowded facility being treated on blood-smeared floors as frantic loved ones shouted and jostled. Cats scavenged on a mound of medical waste.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

RNZ News

The New Zealand government is putting $5 million to address urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, Israel and the occupied West Bank.

The initial contribution would include $2.5 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and a further $2.5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) under the umbrella of the United Nations appeal.

The Defence Force also remains on standby to help with evacuations of New Zealanders from the area, if required.

• READ MORE: Other Israel-Gaza conflict reports

In a statement, caretaker Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he was “deeply saddened” by the deaths and conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

“The situation continues to evolve rapidly, and New Zealand is joining other likeminded countries to support those civilians and communities affected by the conflict.

“The ICRC protects and assists victims of armed conflicts under international humanitarian law, and is working to gain access to people held hostage, distributing cash and other assistance to displaced people, and providing essential medical assistance and supplies.”

With the Erez and Kerem Shalom crossings shut, the Rafah border was the only way into and out of the Gaza Strip for people and also for humanitarian aid. But that had shut in October too.

Safe passage
Western countries are also getting involved to try to secure safe passage through Rafah for both foreign passport holders in Gaza and humanitarian aid, and there have been conflicting reports about whether it would open temporarily or not.

The WFP aid would help address food insecurity concerns in Gaza and the West Bank, and ensure emergency stock was prepared once access was guaranteed, Hipkins said.

“New Zealand calls for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to enable the delivery of crucial life-saving assistance.

“We call on all parties to respect international humanitarian law, and uphold their obligations to protect civilians, and humanitarian workers, including medical personnel.”

Both the ICRC and WFP act with full independence and neutrality.

With the Labour-led government being in the caretaker position and trying to transition to the National Party after the general elections, the decision for aid had been made after consultation with National leader Christopher Luxon, Hipkins’ statement read.

Luxon said he was appreciative of the communication between the outgoing government and the incoming one.

“It’s important that the government owns those decisions, we are consulted, and when we’re consulted we can give our support.”

NZDF on standby
On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said most New Zealanders who were registered as being in Israel had already left, but 50 Kiwis were still there, and 20 were registered as being in the occupied Palestinian territories (Gaza and the West Bank).

But the government has asked for the New Zealand Defence Force to remain on standby in case it is needed to help with evacuations.

“While not everyone wanting to leave can necessarily get themselves to a departure point, the government has requested NZDF to remain on standby to deploy if necessary,” Hipkins said.

“Commercial routes remain the best option to depart the region, and MFAT is actively providing consular assistance to New Zealanders who remain in the affected region,” he said.

“Anyone who wishes to depart should take the earliest commercial opportunity to do so.”

New Zealand was also working with its partners on evacuation points for people who could not access commercial routes, but Hipkins acknowledged “the security situation on the ground make this difficult”.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Guam has long faced tensions due to the heavy United States military presence on the island.

But as Washington moves to counter China’s presence in the region it is sending more soldiers and missiles to the US territory and updating naval facilities.

There are an estimated 22,000 American troops on Guam currently and that figure is expected to increase up to 27,000.

Director of the Pacific Islands Development Programme at the Hawai’i-based East West Center, Dr Mary Therese Hattori, told RNZ Pacific the military build-up makes Guam a target and puts the safety of its indigenous Chamorro people at risk.

Dr Hattori, who is a Chamorro herself, said the reaction from the locals to the US military presence varies.

“We are seeing all of this tension in the region and it may mean that more of a military build-up and greater defence capabilities on Guam will actually make us a target,” she said.

“The current administration will highlight positives; the employment opportunities for locals, the investment for local infrastructure.”

Chamorro people feeling ‘unsafe’
But she said the people were feeling less safe.

“So, while the country may feel that it is better defended, the safety of the Chamorro people is not part of the equation.”

“We are seeing all of this [military] tensions in the region and it may mean that more of a military build-up and greater defence capabilities on Guam will actually make us a target.

“We feel less safe because Guam is now part of the target . . . you know, the tip of the spear is going to break first in a battle,” she added.

Guam, which has a population of just under 170,000, is still one of the few places where the indigenous people are denied a right to self-determination so that is still an issue.

US presenting as ‘Pacific nation’
Dr Hattori said the US is putting itself forward as a Pacific nation and claiming to have commitment and a deep desire for meaningful engagement with the region in response to China’s engagement in the Pacific.

“But as a Chamorro woman, who lives in the state of Hawai’i, I would argue that US really needs to take a look at its track record and its relationships and meaningful engagement with Pacific Islands with which it has historic relations [such as] American Samoa, Guam, the COFA [Compact of Free Association] nations, and native Hawai’ians.”

“So, look at the track record; look at Red Hill [Hawai’i], the contamination of the water, lack of self-determination on Guam, military build-up, environmental degradation.”

“If this is how US treats Pacific nations with whom it has historic ties, how can other Pacific islanders really believe that the US wants to be a true partner and a Pacific nation,” she added.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Papua New Guinea’s Service Improvement Programme worth more than K1 billion (NZ$440 million) has become a major cash cow for “irresponsible” leaders, says the monitoring agency.

In the past decade, the Provincial and District Services Improvement Programme has delivered much but has not achieved what it set out to deliver — vital government services like schools, health centres, roads and bridges, jetties to the rural population.

Its overseer, the Department of Implementation and Rural Development has now become concerned at the apparent abuse and misuse of public funds by political leaders and their district administration.

The DIRD now reports that a large amount of money has been spent on “ghost projects” which are not physically completed on the ground and cannot be monitored due to financial constraints among others.

Many are half complete health centres or abandoned school classrooms or teachers houses, says DIRD secretary Aihi Vaki.

“Not all of it has been properly acquitted kina by kina. Even the amount of money allocated by the Treasury Department to each district is unknown to the DIRD.”

However, Finance Secretary Dr Ken Ngangan has defended the transfer of the country’s service improvement budgets to the provinces and the remittance of funds by Finance Department as a policy initiative approved by Cabinet.

‘A misunderstanding’
“There is a misunderstanding of the legal framework for budget and expenditure management under which all public and statutory bodies operate,” he said.

“As reported, NEC Decision 240/2018 provided for DIRD oversight of PSIP/DSIP funds management and monitoring.

“Accordingly, the NEC decision was effectively put into effect through the 2019 National Budget process, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, PFMA and Appropriations Act, with PSIP/DSIP funds allocated to DIRD in the National Budget for management and monitoring.”

However, a concerned Vaki has termed it as an “open secret” known to the leaders and their district public servants.

He said the DSIP and PSIP acquittals were compounded by lack of surveillance and monitoring by his department staff due to lack of funding from the National Government despite request after request.

He said there were many issues encountered, some of which were reports of proposed ghost projects paid out and finding their way into the acquittal papers to DIRD.

District Services Improvement Project (DSIP) grants amounts to K960 million a year while provincial (PSIP) grants are K220 million a year. The total bill in a year disbursed by Treasury to MPs is K1.18 billion.

“Due to the increase in districts last year, this year’s allocation will increase to a whopping K1.239 billion,” Vaki said.

Concerns amplified
His concerns were amplified in 2021 by now sidelined Immigration Minister Bryan Kramer on multi-million kina projects in rural districts.

Kramer had said that projects were designed, pre-fabricated, and allegedly constructed according to the acquittals but in reality, there was nothing to show for on the ground.

Kramer, who was then Justice Minister, had also claimed that billions of kina were also lost to undelivered state contracts every year and investigations into some of these incomplete projects were made by the State Audit and Recovery Taskforce (SART) initiated by the Department of Justice and Attorney-General working with nine other state agencies with more than K25 million already recovered.

The current status of the SART since then is not known. Nor how much more they may have been able to identify or recover following the last update provided by Kramer.

These were examples of abuse and misuse on a national level, but on the DDA level, it was alleged that millions may have been squandered through unscrupulous and dubious project deals in rural areas.

Vaki was forthright in his revelation, adding that while 60 percent of MPs had made an attempt to acquit their funding, 40 percent had never provided evidence of how they had spent public money in their districts.

Republished with permission.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

This content originally appeared on openDemocracy RSS and was authored by Elizabeth McBride.

A platform has been dedicated to bolster the Pacific leadership at the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties — COP27.

Known as the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion, the Fono or council aims to faciliate talanoa, or conversation, and knowledge-sharing on issues important to the Pacific, especially advocacy for ambitious climate action and the need for financing.

More than 70 side events will be hosted at the Pavilion, providing a platform for Pacific people to tell their stories.

• READ MORE: COP27: Nobel Prize winners demand Egypt free political prisoners
• Other climate justice reports

Another space, the Pacific Delegation Office, has been set up for hosting meetings with partners and strategising negotiation approaches.

New Zealand Climate Change Ambassador Kay Harrison said the platforms were a key part of ensuring the Pacific’s voice was heard and considered.

The two platforms are part of a Pacific partnership with New Zealand managed by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

Meanwhile, Tonga Meteorological Services Deputy Director Laitia Fifita said his department was attending the conference to share data on Tonga’s climate, which had seen the appearance of four devastating cyclones over the last decade.

“Not only is our director attending this meeting but also the head of government, and the King and Queen are also attending.

“So it’s a nationwide approach, taking relevant issues about the impacts of climate change on small island developing states including Tonga.”

COP27 kicks off this weekend in Sham El Sheikh, Egypt, with an estimated 45,000 people expected to attend.

However, climate experts are not holding their breath for major breakthroughs at the annual conference, with some concerns rich countries will be missing in action.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

Award-winning University of the South Pacific student journalist Sera Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti says Pacific voices on the climate fight need to be amplified for big nations to notice and be accountable for their actions.

The final-year student recently won the top prize in the tertiary level journalism students category at the 2022 Vision Pasifika Media Award with her two submissions on the environmental impacts of Tonga’s volcanic eruption on villagers of Moce Island in Fiji, and declining fish populations on the livelihoods of Fijian fishermen in Suva.

Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti said she was “beyond humbled” to receive the award and expressed her gratitude to God for the opportunity to amplify Pacific voices on climate change.

• READ MORE: Other environmental journalism reports
• Bearing Witness: A Pacific climate crisis documentary and journalism development project — David Robie and Jim Marbrook

Originally from Dravuni village on beautiful Kadavu island, Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti said Pacific Island countries contributed the least towards climate change and global carbon emissions — but were the most affected.

“We are known to have a close relationship to the land and sea. To have that severely affected by big world countries whose activities are a big cause of this is unacceptable,” said the student editor of Wansolwara, USP Journalism’s award-winning print and online publication.

“I am passionate about environmental issues and human interest stories. I believe the Pacific stories should be ‘heard’ and ‘told’ from the Pacific Islanders’ perspective and words as it is a crisis they live by and survive every day.

“In Fiji, there aren’t enough journalists covering stories of the environment and how it’s affecting the people. I understand it can be a resource constraint and financially limited area.

Filling the gap
“I want to fill that gap in the industry and be able to do something I’m passionate about because it’s incredibly important to tell our people’s story.”

Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti dedicated her award to her family, USP Journalism students, staff, peers and indigenous women.

“So many times, we limit ourselves to what others perceive us, and it will take you to step out of your comfort zone to be able to experience your full capabilities,” said Tikotikoivatu-Sefeti, who was also a recipient of the EJN story grant for indigenous reporting.

She was recently one of the first recipients of the Native American Journalists Association and the Asian American Journalists Association (NAJA-AAJA) Pacific Islander Journalism Scholarship.

The Pacific Regional Environmental Programme’s (SPREP) acting communications and outreach adviser, Nanette Woonton, reaffirmed that SPREP recognised the critical role of all media in disseminating public information, education and influencing behaviour for the better.

“At the secretariat, we are excited to be able to offer the opportunity through these awards to honour and recognise the hard work by our media colleagues in protecting our people and the environment,” she said.

Vision Pasifika Media Award
The 2022 Vision Pasifika Media Award was facilitated through a collaboration between the SPREP, Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), Internews Earth Journalism Network (EJN), and the Pacific Environment Journalists Network (PEJN), with financial support from Aotearoa New Zealand.

The award comprised five categories — television news, radio production, online content, print media, and tertiary-level journalism students.

• Other category winners were: Fabian Randerath (television news), Jeremy Gwao (online content) and Moffat Mamu (print). Randerath was also named the overall winner for his story “Rising Tides – Precious Lives” on Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).

Akansha Narayan is a final-year student journalist at USP’s Laucala campus, Suva. USP and Wansolwara collaborate on Pacific stories, and for several years USP and the AUT’s Pacific Media Centre collaborated on a joint Bearing Witness climate journalism project.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Wansolwara.

Critics of New Zealand’s new $4.5 billion global warming plan to help New Zealanders into electric vehicles and hybrids say a significant cheque for the Clean Car programme is sending the wrong message about the role cars play in the country’s future.

Victoria University of Wellington’s environmental studies Professor Ralph Chapman said — electric or not — cars were still heavy on the wallet and on the environment.

“The sheer carbon emissions associated with running cars, the life cycle of a car and all the infrastructure that goes with it — like highways and more spread-out infrastructure for water and waste water … when you start to add it all up, cars are pretty much a disaster.”

• READ MORE: NZ’s first Emissions Reduction Plan spends $2.9b from Emergency Response Fund
• Government plan to tackle climate change to be revealed
• NZ Herald environment writer Simon Wilson: ‘It’s a massive step. But not enough.’
• Other reports on NZ’s climate action

Professor Chapman said there were still carbon emissions that went into making EVs and the like, as well as the emissions involved in importing them to New Zealand.

“The whole model has to change, rather than just encouraging people to go to a slightly more efficient car.”

Professor Chapman said the alternative option of scrapping an old car in return for money towards buying a bike or using public transport was a good move.

Free Fares lobby disappointed
Free Fares, which is lobbying the government to make all public transport free, is also disappointed in the scheme.

A spokesperson for the group said the wider Emissions Reduction Plan was “a continuation of an individualised culture and a focus on car ownership” rather than public transport, “which is what we need”.

Low-income families who scrap their old car will get funding to buy a low-emitting vehicle in a $569 million scheme, one of the big-ticket items in the government’s first Emissions Reductions Plan.

The money will not just be for electric vehicles – it could also help buy an e-bike or could be in the form of public transport vouchers.

But there was very little detail released about the scheme, such as who exactly will be eligible and – critically – how much financial help they would get.

New Zealand’s first Emissions Reduction Plan. Video: RNZ News

A pilot will be rolled out for 2500 households first, before an expansion of the scheme in about two years’ time.

Climate Change Minister James Shaw yesterday said it would follow a similar scheme which was introduced in California.

Those who took part in one scheme there got about $NZ15,000 off the price of a new or second hand EV.

“Notoriously challenging” says MIA
But even if a similar discount was offered here, it would still be costly, and “notoriously challenging”, the Motor Industry Association (MIA) said.

Chief executive David Crawford said the cost of new EV imports started at $40,000 and went upwards of $80,000, whereas used models started at about $20,000.

“If it is a new EV, their prices are quite high; would [eligible people] be able to afford debt servicing the difference? The price gap for a new EV can still be big,” Crawford said.

New Zealand has many old cars still being driven around; they pollute more and aren’t as safe so the MIA said it was supportive of moves to get more of them off the road.

The Motor Trade Association (MTA), which represents mechanics and repair shops, wants the government to go further than the $569m scheme, and roll out a scrappage model for everyone.

Its energy and environment manager Ian Baggott said it would be a challenge for the government to determine the criteria for scrappage.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

David Beasley, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, is sounding the alarm about people being "starved to death" in Mariupol, a city in southeastern Ukraine surrounded by Russian troops.

"We will not give up on the people of Mariupol and other people that we cannot reach."

In a Thursday interview with the Associated Press, the WFP chief predicted that the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine is likely to grow worse in the weeks ahead as Russian President Vladimir Putin intensifies his deadly assault on the Donbas region and beyond.

The invasion that began on February 24 is "devastating the people in Ukraine," said Beasley, who decried aid groups' inability to access civilians in need amid Russia's unrelenting onslaught.

"I don't see any of that easing up," he said. "I just don't see it happening right now."

According to AP:

Beasley expressed particular concern about the port city of Mariupol, where a dwindling number of Ukrainian defenders is holding out against a Russian siege that has trapped well over 100,000 civilians in desperate need of food, water, and heating.

Russian forces that control access to the city have not allowed in aid, even though the WFP has demanded access.

"We will not give up on the people of Mariupol and other people that we cannot reach," Beasley told the news outlet. "But it's a devastating situation: the people being starved to death."

In addition to the logistical hurdles that humanitarian organizations are facing as a result of Russian attacks and blockades, the diversion of Ukrainian workers and fuel to the war effort is also making it harder to deliver lifesaving assistance.

"It's not just going to be the next few days—but the next few weeks and few months could even get more complicated than it is now," said Beasley. "In fact, it's getting worse and worse, concentrated in certain areas, and the front lines are going to be moving."

Earlier this week, Putin said that Russia would shift the focus of its military offensive from areas around the capital of Kyiv to eastern Ukraine, including Mariupol. AP reported that Moscow is determined to seize the port city "so its forces from the annexed Crimean Peninsula can fully link up with troops elsewhere in the eastern Donbas region, Ukraine's industrial heartland."

"The fluid nature of the conflict... has made it especially difficult to reach hungry Ukrainians," AP noted. "The WFP is trying to put food supplies now in areas that could be caught up in the fighting, but Beasley acknowledged that there are 'a lot of complexities' as the situation rapidly evolves."

Despite Putin's recent comments about limiting the geographical extent of his attack, for instance, Russia on Friday resumed its bombardment of Kyiv.

Reiterating his warning from last month that "the bullets and bombs in Ukraine could take the global hunger crisis to levels beyond anything we've seen before," Beasley said Thursday that the disastrous consequences of Russia's war will continue to reverberate around the world.

As agricultural output from one of the world's most productive growing regions has slowed substantially, exports have diminished and the prices of key food staples and fertilizer have climbed to record highs.

According to AP:

Russia and Ukraine together produce 30% of the world's wheat supply and export about three-quarters of the world's sunflower seed oil. Half of the grain the WFP buys for distribution around the world comes from Ukraine.

Some 30 million metric tons of grain bound for export are unable to be shipped because of the war, Beasley said. Ukrainian farmers are struggling to access fertilizer and seed, and those who can plant may see their harvest rot in the fields if the war drags on and there's no way to ship it, he warned.

The shipping challenges have forced the WFP to halve rations for millions of people, many in Africa, and more cuts may be needed, he said.

As Common Dreams has reported, Russia's war on Ukraine is exacerbating extreme poverty and undernourishment for tens of millions of people throughout the Global South, including in the occupied Palestinian territories, several countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and in parts of East Africa.

The situation is particularly dire in drought-stricken and war-torn nations such as Yemen—where the U.S.-backed, Saudi-led military assault has entered its eighth year—and Afghanistan, whose central bank reserves have been seized by the Biden administration.

In Latin America, fertilizer shortages are already hurting poor Peruvians, contributing to unrest and throwing the political future of leftist President Pedro Castillo into doubt.

"People are going to be starving to death," Beasley said, adding that hunger intensified by the conflict in Ukraine could prompt "mass migration beyond anything we've seen since World War II."

This content originally appeared on Common Dreams - Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community and was authored by Kenny Stancil.

Papua New Guinea’s Police Commissioner David Manning — who is also head of the country’s Covid-19 National Control Centre — has placed United Nations agencies on notice that they must reveal how they have spent virus emergency funding over the past two years.

Manning said Prime Minister James Marap and other Members of Parliament, and independent organisations such as Transparency International, have all called for the release of information on how covid-19 funds have been spent and they have been ignored.

“Unfortunately, these United Nations bodies have refused to provide financial information to the government and people of Papua New Guinea,” he said.

• READ MORE: Other PNG covid-19 reports

This matter has now come to a head with the Controller writing to the World Bank Acting Country Director in Papua New Guinea, Paul Vallely, on March 29, advising that he would no longer endorse any further increase in allocation of funds, or disbursements, under the PNG Covid-19 Emergency Response Project.

“I have repeatedly requested both directly and through auditors, acquittals of previously disbursed funds under this and other similar projects,” the Controller said in his letter to the World Bank on the loan money.

“The recipients of these funds have refused to provide any reasonable account for these monies.

“There is over US$1.3 billion (K4.5 billion) identified on the self-reporting donor tracker as being committed for managing the covid-19 pandemic in PNG.

‘How are UN agency funds used?’
“What our people need to know, and the global community needs to know, is how are these UN agencies using the funds allocated to them.”

Manning advised that the project is to receive no further funds until he is satisfied that previous disbursements have been acquitted.

“Enough is enough, I have called for the past year for this expenditure to be acquitted and they have refused, so now I am demanding compliance with transparency requirements in PNG,” he said.

“With the country going through the height of the pandemic, these agencies were provided with some leniency, but we have heard enough excuses and misleading information.

A substantial part of the funds being spent by these UN organisations had also become a part of national sovereign debt that must be repaid by future generations of the Papua New Guinean people, he said.

“But the terrible irony is that we do not even know what they spent this money on, particularly in areas such as communications and awareness in which they have failed.

“Details that have been revealed on the Covid-19 Donor Tracking Dashboard shows that UNDP, as one example, has facilitated the following funding of their own activities in PNG to an amount of K9 million (US$2.6 million).

“This is one just source of funding that is shrouded in secrecy and there are several others for which we have demanded information but is being ignored by this global body.”

Outraged by wording
Manning said he was outraged by the almost identical wording from UNICEF, WHO and UNDP in response to his requirement for an independent auditor to access their records, in which these agencies essentially said they would ignore the request.

In documents seen by the Post-Courier, UNDP Resident Representative Dirk Wagener and UNICEF PNG Representative Claudes Kamenga wrote to Manning with the same “contemptuous and arrogant” language stating that: “We would like to inform you that UNICEF, as a United Nations Agency, is submitted to the ‘Single Audit principle’ that gives the exclusivity of external audit and investigation to the United Nations Board of Auditors (UNBoA) founded in 1946 through the UN resolution 74 (I) of 7 December 1946.”

Manning said what UNICEF and UNDP were saying to PNG is that they would spend funds that were intended for the people, and they would not tell how they used this money.

“In other words, if these agencies have wasted money that was intended for our people, they claim they can keep it a secret,” Manning said.

“This is exactly what we have seen with the way UNICEF uses public funding for communications and awareness and delivers limited results.

“This is a matter that must be addressed at the highest level of the United Nations, because if this lack of transparency is happening in PNG, you have to ask how many other smaller developing countries are being treated with such contempt.”

The Controller said he would ensure the PNG public and international support partners were kept aware of developments in the matter and if acquittals were forthcoming.

Republished with permission from the PNG Post-Courier.

This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.